Casing the Nokia N82
In the latest of my semi-definitive (is such a term an oxymoron?) series of case reviews, I look at solutions designed to carry and protect the Nokia N82...
Here we go then. You know the drill. We beg, borrow or (shock horror) buy all the cases that are advertised as suitable for a specific smartphone and then examine them in detail, finding out the flaws before you part with your hard earned cash. And if you can suggest a specific case which isn't mentioned here then please get in touch at slitchfield{at}gmail.com.
Case and Pouch N82 'Leather Phone Case v4'
You may remember that Case and Pouch's N95 case was a favourite of mine and this, their generic N82/N73/N81 offering, is too. What I like about this design is that it keeps things simple. It's a perfect fit for the N82, the catch is magnetic (so no noisy Velcro openings or press-stud hit-and-miss closures), the N82 is easy to extract and the belt clip is superbly snug and slimline.
In fact, my only complaint would be that the magnetic catch isn't quite as strong as on their N95 version, but it's still secure enough for day to day use. Style rating: 6/10 Protection rating: 8/10 Usability rating: 10/10, Total: 24/30
Krusell Classic for N82
From the sublime to the (usually) ridiculous. Sometimes known as their 'Cabriolet' case and with previous examples being somewhat horrible fits, I was apprehensive about this Krusell offering. Luckily it's a reasonable fit this time around, even if it is so tight a fit that zipping your N82 in is hopefully a one-time operation - SIM or battery swappers, steer clear. The idea here is that the N82 stays in situ and you unclip it from your belt every time you want to use the phone. To cope with camera functions, the back of the case detaches, as shown.
Unfortunately, although the N82 Classic is still a better fit than usual, it's still not anywhere near perfect. To my eyes it simply looks messy, the fit over the keypad and d-pad isn't great, it's simply the wrong solution for the flush-fronted N82. Having to unclip from your belt is a two-handed operation (a hassle) and there's the security angle of having the full N82-majesty displayed to all observers ('Hey, I've got something work nicking'), too. Style rating: 5/10 Protection rating: 9/10 Usability rating: 3/10, Total: 17/30
Mobile Fun Silicone Case N82
Dramatically minimalist, this 'stealth' case is what you'd stick on your N82 to go to a rock concert or night club. No labels, no logos, no keypad backlighting allowed through. Install a black-ish theme on the N82 and you'd be good to go almost anywhere. It's a good fit too, with all button hoods fitting exactly over their physical counterparts.
The downsides here are that the silicone coating, while perfect for providing a good grip and repelling water, is an utter dust attractor, as you can possibly tell from the photos. And, obviously, you have to know your keypad like the back of your hand, since you can't see any keypad labels. Infrequent texters need not apply. Style rating: 8/10 Protection rating: 9/10 Usability rating: 5/10, Total: 22/30
Noreve N82 Tradition
As usual, there's no faulting Noreve on sheer quality. The Tradition is an in-situ flip design, immaculately designed and made in high quality leather. The cutouts are perfectly aligned and the camera flap work well.
BUT.... and there's always a 'but' in these reviews... like Proporta, Noreve are still struggling with their belt fixings. The old generation, bulky plastic rotating mounts just aren't 'cool' and make the case too protruding (from the waist), in my opinion. Worse, the stiff unlocking button makes getting your N82 off a two-hand job, which isn't good. Pretty, though. Style rating: 9/10 Protection rating: 9/10 Usability rating: 6/10, Total: 24/30
Krusell Performer M
Now this is more like it from Krusell. The Performer holster is tough (neoprene), it's smart, there's a fabulously strong magnetic catch, it's got a nice strong and slim belt clip.
There's one problem though. Because this is a generic case, Krusell have sensibly equipped the bottom of the case with an elastic-powered retainer. In other words, you shove in something the length of the N82 and, with a little effort, the bottom strap pulls out from the case rear, to accommodate the phone. Which is fair enough, except that you have to apply quite a bit of pressure to do this, making it effectively a two-hand job to reinsert the N82. Plus, the pressure usually means that several of the N82's keys get pressed in, so you have to use keylock on the device every time you put it away. Style rating: 9/10 Protection rating: 8/10 Usability rating: 5/10, Total: 22/30
Krusell Vertica S-wide
Ah, the famous Vertica (used to be called the 'Verticalic'). It's been home to my N93, my E70 and many others in its lifetime. It's a simple leather holster and is shown as N82-compatible on the Krusell web site. Unfortunately it's simply too large - or rather the N82's too thin, and ends up rattling around...
Krusell, as with quite a few other case manufacturers and accessory suppliers, really need to be more careful when stating which case is suitable for which phone, I reckon. For completeness sake: Style rating: 7/10 Protection rating: 5/10 Usability rating: 6/10, Total: 18/30
So current winners in this round-up (which may get added to as time goes on!) are the 'Noreve' and 'Case and Pouch' cases, with a joint top score of 24/30.
Other cases we acquired for review include the Proporta N82 Alu-leather, which is being redesigned with a new belt clip and so we opted to include this in the round-up at a later date.
And then there was Mobile Fun's 'Ducati Corse Vertical Leather Small', which was another case of bad categorisation by the supplier and didn't fit the N82 at all. Ditto their 'N82 Crystal Case', which also didn't fit! Rafe wasn't impressed (it was on his credit card!)
Can you suggest other N82 cases worth including here?
Steve Litchfield
PS. All cases will be offered as door prizes at the upcoming Autumn AllAboutSymbian pub meet.
Review Discussion
14 Comments / Post New Comment
Especially the first one seems to have the magnetic catch very close to the camera switch if you put the phone in the "wrong" way..
Just something to keep in mind.
Steve
can you remove the belt clip from the first one?
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
....can you remove the belt clip from the first one?
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the crystal case is a snug and good fit, and you can still see your phone clearly. there are a few downsides though, the case does get scratched including the screen, so visibility is affected. furthermore, outside light reflects of the case so seeing what's on the screen can be difficult. if it rains and you happen to use the phone, water can wick under the case and reopening the cover to dry it out is tricky.
that's why i looked at the silicone case. it fits really well, the case feels tactile and it's thinness makes it easy to use all the keys. also, if using a white case, it complements the silver cover of the n82. the screen is not covered so it's clarity and brightness can be appreciated. only minor gripe i have is one of the speakers is partially covered by the case, but this was the same on the crystal case, i wonder if a prototype phone was used to spec the dimensions which subsequently altered on the production phone?
Please let me know asap, I am just 1 step short of buying this. Thanks!
Unfortunately, if you want to have your N82 in a clip case that doesn't need to be opened before full access, you will find, as I have, that the Krusell Classic - whilst flawed - is the only option available on the UK market (unless someone knows different). I've had one for a few weeks now and, whilst it does the job reasonably well, I'm not that pleased with it. Partly as I stupidly bought one in haste from a shop on Oxford Street for £25 and later found them for £8.99 on the Web! By visiting the shop I was able to try one on though, and a warning - the fit does vary. I eventually bought the third one they unpacked for me and still it's not perfect (some of the cut-outs don't line up that well, and it's so tightly packed you can't pull it around much). But generally it's OK, not that bad looking, but more functional than sexy - but I need the high degree of protection. The clip has only allowed the phone to fall from my pocket twice (with no damage). I wear my phone inside my hip pocket, face in, clipped to the outside - again, this is about the only case style which allows this. I've only ever had one leather phone case ever with a clip that NEVER let the phone fall out...and Krusell appear to do a wide variety of interchangable clips for other applications.
Inevitably I'm finding a thin film of moisture gets sandwiched between the screen and the underside of the clear plastic face cover, which looks slightly unpleasant in standby but doesn't have any effect on visibility when actually using the phone. I was surprised at first to find there was a large cut-out for the 'joystick' button, and yes it will allow a bit of dust & moisture in, but perhaps the fit is so tight that Krusell's designers found it would keep getting depressed accidentally if they'd covered it over. Maybe. I've left the transparent stickers that come affixed to the new phone on mine, under the case - from experience, the screen can still get scratched by micro-particles trapped between. Anyhow, hope this helps!
http://www.beyzacases.com/
Am actually looking for Vaja case first, but Vaja still haven't launch the case for N82 at the time I order Beyza case.
Otherwise think I may go for the Silicon Case (was gonna go for black before I saw the fluff problem...)
Awesome thing, protects from scratches like some sort of case hopped up on 'roids.